Mobile radio terminals such as mobile telephones for modern GSM and UMTS mobile radio networks (GSM, Global System for Mobile Communication, UMTS, Universal Mobile Telecommunication System) are produced by manufacturers who are not also at the same time providers of mobile radio services or mobile radio network operators. The manufacturers directly equip their mobile telephones with the operating system required for controlling the mobile telephones and for setting up network services, as well as the required standard software, that can adequately control the majority of the services offered by the network operators and network providers. However, network providers and operators are increasingly demanding that mobile telephones be equipped with software that is matched to the specific network offered by the network provider and/or to the individual appearance of the network provider on appearance on the market, for example in terms of color and shape, or else in the imaging of the network-operator-specific services.
The network providers, which term also means network operators in the following text, therefore desire customized software from the mobile telephone manufacturers, for example a special choice of background images for the display, that is to say the graphic display on the mobile telephone, that are typical of the appearance of the network provider on the market, such as particular ring tones, special call numbers, settings for network services such as call diversion, mailbox, messaging services etc., as well as menu functions that refer to network-operator-specific services or already map them, and that are already set up or preselected in the mobile telephone. The customization processes in this case relate mainly to the menu-based user guidance in the mobile radio terminal, such as a mobile telephone, that is to say to the user interface between the mobile radio terminal and its user, which must be matched to the services made available by the network provider, both with regard to its graphical usage surface and with regard to the scope, type and content of the selectable menus.
The known terminals, for example for GSM and UMTS mobile radio networks, have menu-based user guidance that is in general a fixed component of the operating system (RTOS, run-time operating system). It can be modified only by the terminal manufacturer, by amending the software in the terminal. This results in considerable restrictions for customization of terminals for the individual network provider. Software can be modified only at an unacceptably high implementation cost, and is therefore extremely inflexible, and costly at the same time. Furthermore, this involves an unacceptable time penalty, bearing in mind the time pressure resulting from the time-to-market requirements of the network providers.
In addition to the operating-system-integrated solution, there are so-called open operating systems for mobile radio terminals, such as the Symbian OS operating system, a proprietary operating system for Smartphones and PDAs (personal digital assistants). In these open operating systems, the user interface is applied to the operating system by the terminal manufacturer. However, even this solution results in a rigid system that can be matched only to a minor extent to the requirement and wishes of the network providers.